Soul shakers – Tune Up

Alabama Shakes is “putting old-school music back on the map,” as Jack White proclaims on the blog for his boutique, Nashville-based label Third Man Records.

The explosive upstart band sounds like it has been burning its way through saloons and speakeasies below the Mason-Dixon Line for decades now. The retro-leaning group from Athens, Ga., carries a glowing torch for well-worn Southern soul straddling the barrelhouse strength of vocalist Brittany Howard’s formidable wail.

In March the group released its debut full-length album, Boys & Girls, for ATO Records, and announced its arrival to the world with a string of sweat-soaked, fan-converting performances at South by Southwest in Austin.

Sounding like the record Otis Redding and Janis Joplin might have made at Muscle Shoals with Keith Richards behind the boards, Boys & Girls heralds a powerful new player on the indie soul scene. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings finally have a little competition. alabamashakes.com